Cochin Shipyard to help Mumbai port set up ship repair facility

Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) for management and operation of the ship repair facilities of Mumbai Port Trust.

As per the MoU, MbPT and CSL will set up a professional ship repair ecosystem at the Indira Dock facility at Mumbai Port. The facility would be beneficial to both commercial and defence repairs.

The MoU also provides for expansion of the ship repair capacity within the Indira Dock that may include setting up of a floating drydock (FDD) and upgrading existing facility at HDD thereby enhancing the existing ship repair capacity in Mumbai area. This would serve the increasing ship repair demands in Mumbai area, being one of the key port of India that connect internationally, the company said in a statement.

The objective of the MoU is to develop a world class integrated ship repair facility in Mumbai. Hughes Dry Dock (HDD) at Mumbai Port Trust is about 305 x 30 metres. Built in 1914, this is one of the largest graving dry docks on the west coast of India.

HDD is an active area where Mumbai Port Trust gives the dock on lease to owners. With this MoU, CSL expects to provide ship repair solutions to shipowners.

Cochin Shipyard, which commenced ship repair operations in 1982, is today the leading ship repair yard in the country. It repairs varied types of vessels, including defence vessels, tankers, oil rigs, passenger vessels and port craft.

Following the announcement, shares in CSL rose 4.30 per cent to close at Rs557.80.